Covington Middle School-Aurora

When thinking about art and architecture, the lines often cross partly because the two practices employ many of the same fundamental principles. Both strive to tell a story by manipulating colors, materials, light, texture, and space. And sometimes, the end result can only be described as an architectural masterpiece.

Such was the case for Aurora, a work of art designed by Tokyo-born artist Etsuko Ichikawa. Aurora leverages the material flexibility of Fabricoil® as well as Cascade’s ability to custom-engineer attachment systems in a variety of shapes, styles, and sizes.

Ichikawa chose 5/16” aluminum Fabricoil for her work of art that gracefully ascends over the main atrium at Covington Middle School. Aptly named, the piece was inspired by the Northern Lights, and Ichikawa saw Fabricoil as the perfect material to bring this one-of-a-kind design vision to life.

Installed at Covington Middle School in Vancouver, WA, the project includes a variety of custom-made Fabricoil panels in virtually all colors of the rainbow – red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple. The combination of Fabricoil’s semi-transparency and portions of swirling, layered fabric gives Aurora its iridescent look, which alters depending on the observer's point of view.